Motorcycle Battery Maintenance

'Bikes don't leak oil, they mark their territory'. Does this epitomize your bike for you? Does your motorcycle give you the sense of power? Does it enhance your identity or rather, has it become your identity? Well, if it does, then I am sure you must be taking good care of your bike. And a bit contrary to the phrase mentioned, you would not let the oil leak from your bike. While talking about a motorcycle, maintenance of the motorcycle battery is one of the most important thing. One of the major elements of battery maintenance is battery charging. But to know that, first a low down on the parts of a motorcycle battery is required.

Motorcycle Battery Basics
To start off the things, the battery is not a 12-volt battery. It is just a convenient term used to distinguish one battery from the other. A fully charged 12-volt battery, permitted to rest for sometime (a few hours) with no load with drawn or no charge going into it, balances out its charge and measures around 12.6 volts between terminals. Other parts of the battery are heat sealed case to cover, through partition construction, patented sealed post, polypropylene cover and container, special active material, special separator, heavy duty glass mat and special grid design.

Battery Maintenance
First things first, check the fluid levels in each chamber. Fill up the chamber, which is low. Make sure you use distilled or deionized water. In dire situations, the battery will need to be recharged 100 percent. Otherwise, here are a few things that you will have to keep tabs on.

• Check the electrolyte level in your battery. While topping the battery, wear protective glasses and gloves. Ensure that your doing that in a properly ventilated area and beware of the fumes.
• Keep the top of the battery free from grime.
• Take a look at the clamps, cables and the likes to check for damage or loose connections.
• Clean terminals and connectors are a must for the battery to work properly. So affirm that they are in good condition.
• Mossing, excessive sedimentation or sulfation can be disastrous for the battery, so check for that as well.
• Keep the exhaust tube free of kinks and clogs.
• After replacing the caps, test the battery with either a hydrometer or voltmeter.

If at all you are going to store your battery somewhere, make sure that the surface is non-conducive, preferably wood. If the battery is stored on any concrete or metal surface, it will get discharged over a period.

These were a few overall motorcycle battery maintenance tips. Here is the procedure of charging a motor cycle battery.

How to Charge a Motorcycle Battery?
To start off, do not ever charge your motorcycle battery by the regular battery charger. Use a battery charger designed for trickle charge instead. Using the former will run the battery. The battery can be recharged any time the lights go dim or the motorcycle has been unused for 2 weeks or more. The first thing you would need to do is to remove the battery from the motorcycle, with the help of pliers or a small crescent wrench. If it is hard to reach, the owner's manual could come to your rescue. While doing that, also check the connecting cables for any wear and tear. Oh yes, and do not forget to put on your safety goggles and gloves, as the fluid in the battery is extremely toxic and acidic. After you do that, remove the chamber caps and fill it with distilled water. AVOID tap water as the battery can get damaged, due to the reactions of acids with the water. And leave the caps off when the charging is on, to give way for the gases and not build up in the battery. Precisely for that, check the vent tube for any kind of blockage. Initiate the process, with a cool battery and the charger. The level of depletion of battery will determine the time it needs to be charged. It will need to be charged either overnight or perhaps longer. Follow this up by turning off the charger after confirming that the battery is fully charged. Replacing the caps on the fluid chambers, reinstate the battery on the motorcycle. Finally, confirm that the caps and cables are fastened properly in their place.

These were the fundamentals of keeping your motorcycle battery in a fantastic shape. Of course, this can vary depending on the bikes. Happy biking!